Date Gone Wrong?
by Cherie-24-Addict
Summary: Early season 8.  Natalia's going out with Jesse tonight, but she's finding herself preoccupied by someone else.  RN, lines up with canon.  Chapter 4 is up, and Natalia and Ryan must get over a very awkward conversation with Calleigh and Eric before...ugh.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for the delay; I'm basically grounded, so I'm circumventing the rules for your sake. Here's Part 10 of the Quince series. Love you all, and please review!**

It was the end of a long day, the fifth long day in a long week in a long month in what had probably been the longest year of his life. Everyone was glad for the break, but three CSIs, including him, weren't particularly focused. Something was on their minds.

Of course, Horatio was staying later, as he had a habit of doing. Calleigh was headed home for some relaxation(or, more likely, to Eric) and had ordered everyone that this was a weekend in which she was not to be disturbed. Walter was planning on whooping some ass in his neighborhood's basketball game. Even Maxine was going to enjoy the weekend; in typical Valera fashion, she planned on celebrating her 30th birthday in a Miami nightclub, dancing provocatively, drinking as many shots of tequila as she could, and finding a hot guy who could manage to take her home without both of them passing out.

But CSIs Wolfe, Cardoza, and Boa Vista were all much more distracted, much more pensive, than the rest of them. Natalia smoothed down her hair as she looked in her locker mirror.

"LBD or red skirt?" she asked herself aloud.

"You going out tonight?" Jesse asked her nonchalantly.

"Yeah," she said, trying not to look at him. Something about the situation, for some reason, just didn't seem right. "Seems like a nice enough guy, but I'm not quite sure about him."

"Ah," Jesse nodded understandingly. He whispered in her ear, "Either would look great," then shot her one last smile and shut his locker, walking away with what could only be described as a spring in his step.

"So. You and Jesse, huh?"

Ryan's emotionless, unsurprised words echoed around the locker room, which was empty with the exception of himself and Natalia.

She turned around to face him. "Uh, yeah," she said a little tightly. "He seems nice enough. Kind of cute. I think I'd like to get to know him better."

Ryan looked at her a little funny. "You've known the guy for only a couple of weeks and you're already breaking out the stilettos?"

A mirthless laugh ripped its way awkwardly out of her throat. "You judging me, Ryan?" she asked.

"No," he said, continuing to search his locker for any inch of dust he didn't particularly like. He stood up and looked her in the eye. "I would never judge you," he said, with a tenderness that brought comparisons to Eric Delko's speech towards Calleigh. "It's him I'm worried about."

Natalia watched him closely as he went back to what he was doing. His hands slowly wiped away any extra dust, the muscles in his arms tightening and relaxing as he worked. As Natalia found herself unnaturally mesmerized by something so little, so utterly insignificant, it vaguely occurred to her that this was the first time she'd noticed that she really liked the color of Ryan's eyes.

Damn.

This was not good. She was thinking about Ryan when she really should have been focusing on what a catch Jesse was. Something had to be seriously wrong with her. Maybe she was running a low—grade fever. The crime scene and her lab had been unnaturally cold today, after all. She almost hoped she was seriously ill. Maybe dying of a tropical disease would, in effect, solve all of her problems.

Before Ryan could get the wrong idea, Natalia regained her composure. "Thanks for your concern, Ryan," she said lightly, "but I'll be fine."

He shot her a skeptical look.

"Really?"

She nodded, blinking back a hormonal tear or two in the process. "Really, Ryan," she said, "I'll be okay."

"You'll let me know if you need anything?"

"Why would…"

"A couple of contacts I have at LAPD mentioned that Jesse wasn't exactly the most…gentlemanly of detectives."

"Ryan…"

"Look, I'm not saying you have to check in with me every five minutes like you're eleven, but, please, just let me know how everything goes." He turned away from Natalia and finished cleaning out the last of his locker, determined that she wouldn't see the look in his eyes that went far past platonic affection.

She sighed noticeably. "Okay, Ryan," she groaned. "But this trust thing goes both ways. If you try to check up on me, you're a dead man."

"Deal."

"If you get Calleigh and Delko to eat dinner at the same place as me and Jesse, you're dead."

"Fine."

"If I become the subject of a betting pool, I'll know who to blame. Get it?"

He groaned in exasperation. He'd gotten the gist of it before the conversation even started, before Jake and Calleigh had been together, even. Of course, he wouldn't be getting anywhere if he tried to explain that to Natalia; she usually preferred to deal in reality, not abstract metaphors. "Got it."

"Good." She slammed the locker shut and slung her oversized pocketbook over her shoulder. She started to walk but then thought better of it and turned around, walking back towards Ryan, the sound of her heels clickety-clacking against the floor. As he turned around, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug that managed to both warm her up and freeze her insides.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then, she bit her lip, dropped her hands to her sides like he was a disease, and clickety-clacked away, leaving Ryan to watch her move toward the guy who had the worst track record with women that he'd ever seen.


	2. Chapter 2

He really was a nobody, wasn't he?

It was Friday night, for God's sake, and he was sitting at home, doing various things: eating Chinese food, watching _Law and Order: SVU_, cleaning the countertop, sipping his beer, eating more Chinese food, vaguely realizing that there was a_ Law and Order: SVU_ marathon on, cleaning the countertop, using the dust buster to get rid of any excessive crumbs, sipping his second beer…

It was a vicious cycle. But Ryan didn't really see that he could do anything else. He didn't have a group of sporty, jock-like friends, like the new guy, Walter. He didn't have a girlfriend, like Eric did. There wasn't any work to be done back at the Miami Dade Crime Lab, though Horatio always managed to find _something_ to do on a lonely Friday night. Even Valera was enjoying herself for once instead of donning the perpetual scowl her face usually settled into. And what was he doing? Pining. He was pining over the fact that Jesse had managed to get Natalia to agree to a date.

It begged the question, what was the big deal? He obviously had Horatio's trust, and though he was no Delko, he was a pretty good replacement until Eric decided to come back. (When Cardoza was out of earshot, Ryan and Natalia had agreed that Eric would probably be back within a year.) He seemed outwardly chivalrous and genuinely concerned for the welfare of other people. Smart as hell, too, and he dressed much better than any male member of the team.

It wasn't a big deal. Or at least, it shouldn't have been a big deal.

But this was Natalia he was talking about. If Jesse screwed up one thing, she would be gone. And she'd probably hide behind an "I'm fine" if anyone asked her what the problem was. Natalia could get a little panicky with men, though if not for Nick, she would have been okay. But if Jesse hurt her in any way, shape or form…

Ick.

Jesse's really in for something special tonight, Ryan thought to himself. A dinner with Natalia Boa Vista. The best he'd ever gotten was going to an MMA match with her so that she could make Delko jealous. He wasn't apt to complain, but why was it that he always got the short end of the stick.

Not that he was complaining about her friendship. In fact, that was the one thing that, through Eric being shot and leaving CSI, was managing to keep him from shooting something that moved. She grounded him; she made him laugh; she made him, for a time, forget.

And right now, he'd give anything to forget her wide, satisfied grin. Especially when it was CSI Cardoza who'd be getting her smiles.

"I need another beer," Ryan muttered to himself. As he got off the couch and walked to the refrigerator, the phone began to ring.

"Not now," he groaned. He tried to ignore it until it stopped, going through the fridge and moving to sit back down. Then, it began to ring again. "This is absolutely the last thing I need."

"This is Ryan Wolfe. I can't (or won't) come to the phone right now," the answering machine blared, "so please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Beep.

"Ryan, it's me. Please pick up. Tonight isn't going well…to say the least," Natalia said softly, her voice cracking a little. She cleared her throat. "Damn it, Wolfe, if you don't pick up…"

Ryan nearly killed himself as he sprang for the phone.

"Wolfe," he said calmly.

"Why the hell didn't you pick up?" she chastised him.

"How do you know I wasn't out of reach of a phone?"

"It's Friday," she growled.

"Don't get mad at me that I'm continuing the tradition even though you're going out. You're calling me over that? Have fun at your dinner with Jesse."

Natalia's fury seeped through the line. "You son of a..."

"Okay, then," he cut her off, a softer undertone lining his voice. "Natalia, what happened?"

Her anger seemed to dissipate then, and she sniffled a little on the other line. "He didn't come."

Ryan blinked rapidly. "Okay, _what?_"

"Uh, he was supposed to pick me up an hour and a half ago, and he never came," Natalia continued flatly. "No call, no text, nothing. I was so stupid…"

"I'll be over in ten minutes," Ryan said quickly. He ran to the TV and grabbed one of the _NCIS_ DVDs he had lying around, then shifted the phone to his shoulder and took the six-pack of beer out of the fridge.

Natalia released her breath, realizing what was happening. "You don't have to do this," she said, almost sorrowfully.

On the other side of the conversation, as he pulled on his leather jacket, Ryan shook his head. Could she really not see the truth that lay right in front of her?

"Yes," he said, "I do."

Both paused for a few seconds to wonder at the sheer audacity in Ryan's quasi declaration. Then Natalia found her voice again.

"I'll see you in a few minutes," she said carefully. "I still have some leftovers from a couple of nights ago."

"I already ate," he said. "You can have whatever you want."

"Oh," she said, "so now you're trying to cheat me out of my Friday night Chinese food? What kind of person _are_ you?"

"The kind of person who's bringing the beer and the DVD, so you might want to shut up."

They chuckled softly, Ryan's voice low and gravelly, Natalia's a little softer.

"Oh, and Ryan?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she said. "I really don't deserve all this."

"That's where you're wrong," he replied seriously. "You gonna be okay until I get there?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. "See you in a few."

"See you in a few," he agreed. As he hung up, he took the Friday Marathon Night supplies and walked out the front door to his car, wondering if there really was a line between best friendship and…whatever the hell was going on in his mind.

A few miles away, as Natalia hung up, she stared at the phone and wondered why she hadn't seen all of this craziness years ago.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Eric leaned back against the front side of the house, a concerned look in his eye.

"Eric, she left her bag at the crime lab," Calleigh said innocently. "I'm making sure she doesn't drive herself crazy looking for it. She'd do that for me, so that's what I'm going to do."

He looked down and smirked, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "You wanna see if she brought Jesse home, don't you?"

She looked away and smoothly replied, "No, because that would be awkward and unprofessional."

"What about that time in the gun vault…"

"Okay, sweetheart," she said, trying to suppress a laugh as she brought a finger to his lips, "this is where you shut it." She gave him a light peck on the lips and clickety-clacked towards the front door. She pressed the doorbell and patiently waited.

Five minutes later, even the uber-patient Calleigh Duquesne was starting to become restless. The same could be said for her boyfriend, who couldn't stop tapping on any solid surface for longer than a couple of seconds.

"Cal…" he cajoled. "We should either leave or use the key you have."

Calleigh and Natalia had enhanced their friendship to the point where they made plans outside of work and took care of each other's houses if need be. Calleigh preferred not to use the key for unnecessary purposes, however.

"Eric, you know that's only for emergencies."

"And if something happened to her?"

Grrr.

"Fine," she said, taking out the key from the pocket of her purse she kept it in. She unlocked the door and walked in, obviously not in the mood to be in flat feet. Eric followed behind her closely, his hand on the small of her back.

"Hello?" Cal's soft Southern lilt bounced through the house. "Natalia, are you there?"

Eric chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Calleigh asked, suspicious.

"I…I think I found her," he said, gasping for air. He pointed to the small den; specifically to the couch.

"Oh," Calleigh breathed. "Well, this is a remarkable turn of events."

The TV was still on, playing an episode of _Law and Order: SVU._ Chinese food and a few beer bottles were present on the coffee table; one side was meticulous and ordered, the other lackadaisical, with a little food spilling out here and there. If that hadn't been enough evidence to show that Natalia had not gone out to her dinner with Jesse, as planned, two people lay fully clothed on the couch. One was more expected than the other. Natalia's head was buried into the chest of her companion, her feet on top of his legs, while he had unconsciously wrapped an arm around her waist in slumber. But this was not the man they had expected it to be; rather, it was the man that everyone had hoped it would be.

"And Ryan and Natalia say that it's just being best friends," Calleigh laughed. "Oh, well. They look cute together." She smiled, bringing a mini ray of sunshine into the still house.

Eric thought for a moment. "How much you wanna bet that's what everyone thought about us for the past twelve years?"

She smiled. "How much you wanna bet they're just as oblivious as we were?"

"I think you'd win that one," he said, shaking his head. "You'd think that, being CSIs, they'd be a little more observant."

"Since when have you ever known Ryan to trust his instincts on anything?"

"Natalia," he pointed out.

"Natalia." She pursed her lips, considering the thought. They both jumped a little as they heard someone bolt upright.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natalia asked warily, her voice cracked from slumber.

"I'm sorry to wake you, honey," Calleigh said cajolingly.

"Calleigh? What happened to your 'no one disturbs me during my weekend with Eric' mantra?"

Eric looked at Cal questioningly, and she chose to ignore both of them. "You left your purse back at the crime lab," she said, walking over and handing the bag to her. "Honey, how much did you drink last night?"

Natalia looked at the beer bottles, then Ryan, who was still sleeping on the couch. Her eyes were everywhere; Calleigh, Ryan, Eric, Ryan, the TV, and Ryan again.

"You don't think I…"

Eric and Calleigh looked at her expectantly.

"No, no, no!" Natalia said, looking a little appalled, but also a little embarrassed. "Nothing happened here. We watched a TV marathon, we ate Chinese food, we laughed. That's about it."

"So falling asleep together on the couch was part of the plan," Calleigh confirmed.

Natalia practically growled. "_Nothing_ happened, Calleigh," she said forcefully. "We do this every Friday. I don't know why it's such a big deal."

"What happened to dinner with Cardoza?"

"He didn't show," Natalia said matter-of-fact, almost as if she'd gotten over the fact. "Ryan decided that I wasn't okay and therefore decided to continue the tradition. No. Big. Deal."

"Whatever you say, honey," Calleigh said cajolingly.

"Natalia," Eric said. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah, sure," she said agreeably, crossing her arms across her chest. "What do you need to say?"

He took a deep breath. "We saw you before you woke up," he said slowly and carefully. "Natalia, I know you'll hate me saying this, but if you think that that's platonic…"

"Calm down, Eric," she said. "I mean, you and Calleigh have done this for years, even before…" A look crossed her face, like she was having some sort of epiphany, and Eric and Calleigh looked at each other with a knowing grin.

"You mean… I… and he… and I'm turning into…and he's becoming…"

"Spit it out, Natalia," Eric said, impatient.

"We're you," she said, her eyes widening. "Oh my God, Ryan and I are you."

Calleigh pursed her lips. "Not exactly, but…"

"It's been really nice to see both of you, but I've got a lot of stuff to do," Natalia said hurriedly. "I'll see you on Monday, Calleigh." She began to lead them towards the door.

"Natalia…" Calleigh started.

"I'll see you on Monday," she repeated, her foot tapping nervously. Calleigh sighed. She looke at Eric, and he nodded and followed her out the door.

Natalia walked to her kitchen and sat down, her head in her hands. That had been a hell of a lot to take in. It would certainly explain the nostalgia, the warm and fuzzy feelings that came when she least suspected them. She still couldn't quite wrap her brain around the fact that something was there, an underlying tone hidden by being best friends.

In the other room, Ryan grumbled and sat up. Noticing that Natalia wasn't in his arms (and feeling a little pang), he got up and walked toward the kitchen, hair sticking up in various places. He stopped and leaned in the doorway.

"What the hell just happened?"


	4. Chapter 4

**_I am sorry for the lack of updates, but starting with Thanksgiving, this week has been crazy for me. But don't worry, I could never forget about the little cliffy I gave you - or Natalia and Ryan. (They're dense, aren't they?)_**

Natalia froze in her spot. She honestly couldn't even _begin_ to describe to Ryan what had happened. What was she supposed to say, "Uh, Eric and Calleigh stopped over here while we were asleep, woke me up, and I realized I'm absolutely crazy about you"? Or, how about, "Yeah, I kind of love you, I think. You know, these epiphanies happen to me all the time."

Yeah, right. She wasn't an idiot. Whereas she really knew what was going on, Ryan was in the dark. Until she could figure out what to do, things needed to be kept that way. And soon, or he was going to realize what had happened, what was happening now. He wasn't an idiot, either.

"Uh, not much," Natalia said to him as nonchalantly as she could, avoiding his eyes.

"Doesn't sound like 'not much'," Ryan responded.

"Ryan, calm down. Geez. It's not that bad," she said, a nervous undertone becoming more evident.

"Then you can tell me what happened."

"Sure," she replied, maintaining her façade of calmness. "You actually missed it by about five, ten minutes? Calleigh stopped by to drop off my bag. Apparently I left it in my lab last night. Guess who she half-dragged to come here."

He chuckled, and a nearly full smile came across his face. "So I win the bet?"

"Not worth it, Ryan," she said, "I've known for months. Just didn't know it was that serious."

"I'm hurt, Natalia," he mock-whined. Then, he walked forward until he was directly across from Natalia and she couldn't avoid his eyes anymore. He slapped down his palm. "You owe me sixty."

"What? We bet on forty before," Natalia protested. "Come on!"

"Interest," Ryan smiled with a wink, "for conveniently forgetting to tell me that you knew."

She glared at him, and he nearly gave in. But for God's sake, he was not going to go all Eric and give in to her every beck and call. Not at this stage of the game, anyway. He'd only give in to _most_ of her orders.

"Sixty. Dollars. Come on, Natalia."

"Ryan, it's been at least eight months since we made that bet," she countered. "It's no longer relevant. Not a big deal."

"Oh, so partners who have known each other for years finally dawning on the fact that they're perfect for each other isn't a big deal?"

Natalia visibly forgot to breathe.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

She shrugged him off. "I'm okay, Ryan," she said softly, her voice sounding smokier than it had a second before. "I'll… I'll go get the cash."

She got up abruptly and passed him as she padded out of the kitchen, inwardly shivering as her shoulder brushed his arm. She went into the living room to look through her wallet to see if she currently had the requisite sixty.

Ryan ran a hand through his hair, desperately trying to pat down the cowlicks. He couldn't understand for the life of him what was going on, and it happened to scare him a little, no matter how unwarranted it was. Eric and Calleigh had been over while he was asleep. So, guess who they'd seen sleeping on Natalia's couch? Was she still asleep at that point, or had she already untangled herself? Did she want to untangle herself? From what he'd heard, he couldn't say.

Oh, screw that, he knew what was going on. He couldn't fool himself; hell, he could barely fool Natalia.

_"We saw you before you woke up… Natalia, I know you'll hate me saying this, but if you think that's platonic…"_

_"Calm down, Eric. I mean, you and Calleigh have done this for years before…"_

_She stopped._

_"You mean I…" she paused. "And he… And I'm turning into…" She continued to stumble over her words in a way he'd never seen before. "And he's becoming…"_

"_Spit it out, Natalia." That was Eric for you, in a nutshell._

"_We're you. Oh, my God, Ryan and I are you."_

Since he was feeling particularly inarticulate, he pulled pancake mix out of Natalia's cupboard and began to start making breakfast. But though he made the pancakes particularly well this morning, his mind was somewhere else. Natalia had finally had an epiphany. Now, he _still_ couldn't figure out if she felt the same way, because it could sometimes go either way. If she really felt something for him, what the hell was with that dinner date she and Cardoza had been supposed to have last night? Ryan abhorred mixed signals; he needed black and white, and this was possibly one of the most (if not the most) confusing situations he'd ever been in.

As he finished the last of the pancakes, he turned around to set them on the table.

"Thank you."

He froze.

Natalia leaned against the doorway with a little smile on her face, watching his every move.

"You didn't have to do that," she continued.

"It's Saturday," he said.

"So?"

"Saturdays are the best day of the week, and pancakes are your favorite, so why not?" he said casually.

She moved slowly from the doorway, the money in her hand.

"You can use the bathroom to change after breakfast," she said to him.

"What, you don't think I look wonderful already?" he joked.

She bit her lip. "Just try stepping out of the house like this, Ryan. I dare you."

He walked past her and through the living room.

"What the hell are you doing?" she laughed, confused, as she ran to catch up with him. He opened the front door and walked onto her lawn.

She pulled on his arm. "You're insane," she whispered. "What the hell are you doing?"

He turned and looked in her eyes. "I _never_," he said slowly, "back down from a challenge."

They held eye contact for a few seconds, and she found herself lost for words. Had Ryan just _flirted_ with her?

"Well, fine," she said to him, "you proved that you are completely, totally insane. Can we please eat breakfast now?"

He looked down at her arm, still hanging on his, and smiled. "Sure," he said. "Whatever you want to do."

As they walked inside, a car drove away. Calleigh Duquesne smiled, looking very glowy and pleased with herself.

**_R&R Part 14 of the Quince series, pleeze. Reviews especially equal chocolate during the holiday season._**


End file.
